


The Branded, and the One Without

by LilacMist



Series: my heroes s-supports [14]
Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Angst, Friendship, Gen, if u know nothing about radiant dawn u should stop and not read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-19
Updated: 2018-09-19
Packaged: 2019-07-14 13:20:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16041287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilacMist/pseuds/LilacMist
Summary: brands in ylisse are completely different than brands in tellius. angst ensues





	The Branded, and the One Without

**Author's Note:**

> i'm such a fake fan tho i'm only on ch 2 of radiant dawn but i've had this as a wip for months

The appearances of the labyrinths in Castle Askr's basement has created a new need in the Order of Heroes. The participants gained no experience in entering, so the summoner sent in groups solely because she felt like it.

"I can't stop this thing!" Chrom yells, galloping in on his new horse. It abruptly digs its feet into the ground, and he almost flies off. "I don't know how well I'll be able to take this through that dungeon," he says, re-steadying himself.

"Aw come on, Chrom! If Cordelia's pegasus can do it, you can do it!" Lissa tells him, hoisting her handball over her shoulder. "And it's not exactly easy to move around in an armored hoop skirt either. We'll both be fine."

Heavy armor clanked in the distance, and Chrom and Lissa turned just in time to see General Zelgius warp to them. "You can count on me to stop you if need be. This power does not drain me as it did in my home world. I will be your shield, Lord Chrom."

Chrom sighs with relief and thanks the general, angering Lissa (who claimed she could handle her brother on her own). "Don't worry about it, Lissa," Alm says, trotting up behind her. "You're a front-line fighter. This way, you can focus on destroying shades instead of keeping an eye on your brother."

"I guess..." she huffs, kicking up some dirt on the ground. "Anything to be useful..."

"Are we ready, dungeon team?" Alm asks, holding up his sword and grinning. This place is much safer than the dungeons in his home world, which were filled with necrodragons and the undead. The Illusory Dungeon has shades of heroes instead, leaving bodily and psychological harm to a minimum. Music echoes through the halls, and the group marches forward, slicing through mirages and smacking warped spirits of their allies to another dimension. Chrom manages to keep his steed under control for _almost_ the whole trip, but their final stop ruines his streak.

"You've got to stop!" Chrom pleads with his horse, but to no avail. It charges ahead towards a steamy cove, and just like before, abruptly halts. Chrom flies off and lands headfirst in a hot spring.

Lissa doubles over laughing and starts pulling off her excess armor so she can jump in after her brother. "Your pauldrons are going to rust!" she giggles, flinging her hoop skirt and corset to the side and scurrying in. Chrom trudged out of the water, thoroughly soaked, and discarded his armor before joining his sister.

"They're lively, aren't they?" Alm asks Zelgius with a laugh.

"They certainly are," Zelgius says emotionlessly. He watches Alm lift his chestplate off of his head and peel his gloves off before joining the sibling pair. Chrom and Lissa were splashing each other relentlessly, and on instinct, they both slammed their hands into the water when Alm neared, soaking him.

"Ack! Sorry, Alm!" Lissa apologizes. She turns to Chrom and chides "Look what you did, you goon!"

"You didn't give me a chance to say I was sorry yet!" Chrom groans. Their arguing dies off when they hear Alm laughing.

"You remind me of my friends from Ram Village," he tells them, brushing his wet hair out of his face and grinning from ear to ear.

Chrom's attention is drawn towars Alm's brand. "You have a mark on your hand," he observes.

"Oh, this?" Alm holds up his hand so that Chrom can see it better. "It's my Brand. Celica and I both have one. We've heard stories about how we're chosen by destiny, or...something like that, anyway."

"I have a Brand, too!" Chrom tells him excitedly. "It's proof of my royal lineage! Yours must be similar!"

Alm laughs nervously. "I have a hard time believing something like that," he admits. The two men, lost in conversation, don't notice Lissa slip away. She wades over to the edge of the spring where Zelgius is merely observing.

"Are you going to come in with us?" she asks in an uncharacteristically quiet voice. He shakes his head and remains silent. "Can I stay over here, then?" he nods. "I try not to be upset, but I can't have fun when they're talking about their Brands." She sighs and leans up against the water's edge, burying her face in her arms. It comes out muffled, but Zelgius can hear her saying that she's being childish and she shouldn't be upset. She picks her head up just enough to peek up at him. "Even so...I still wonder if I'm not of royal blood after all...if I'm not my father's child...what would that mean for me?"

Zelgius takes a deep breath before picking up where she left off. "In my world, a Brand doesn't necessarily surface on the child in question. It could surface generations later on a child who doesn't understand its implications...a child barred from the safety of their own childhood."

Lissa furrowed her brow and pulled herself out of the water, letting her toes dangle in the heat. "I mean, I guess having proof of your royal heritage would make for some interesting changes in your life, but I wouldn't say that your safety is--"

"The Branded in my world aren't royalty," he sharply cuts her off. Lissa jumps and scoots to the side to put some distance between them. "My apologies. You know not of the world I'm from. I should not have been cross with you."

She scratches the back of her head and kicks her legs a bit. "I'm sorry, too. I didn't mean to push your buttons. I mean, I love pushing everyone's buttons, but uh, not now," Lissa mutters sheepishly. "I'll listen if you want to talk about your world. I guess I won't have anything in common with those people with brands, though."

Zelgius's face warms a little. "Your insecurities are shared with many who are Branded," he tells her. "Questioning where in one's lineage the source originated. Your fear that those who raised you aren't your true parents matches quite well with those fearing Branded blood in their veins." He sees her face harden in thought. He almost continues, but then stops himself. What business does he have opening up to her? She's a princess from a faraway land, and he nothing more than a soldier, and a true sub-human one at that.

"You have a brand, then."

It's a simple statement from her--a logical conclusion for her to draw. She's right, so he lets the conversation play out. "I do," he says. She doesn't pry further, and after a time of silence, he turns back towards Chrom and Alm, now lounging in the spring and chatting like they've known each other since childhood.

"General?" Lissa asks quietly. He turns to her with a blank expression. "General," she repeats, "if you ever want to talk about it, about your brand, you can always come to me." She offers him a small smile, then slides back into the water. "Don't make any sudden movements. I'm going to go and pounce on Chrom." Just like that, Lissa ducks back under the hot water, ready to give her brother quite the fright.

Zelgius watches Chrom hit his head on the spring's ledge, and he can't help but chuckle as Lissa and Alm drag him out to rest. Maybe one day he will warm up to the heroes in this world. Maybe he will share his story with princess Lissa. He already knows that she won't treat him any differently because of it. Even with that consolation, he's not ready. Not yet. Not until he's reunited with the only people he shared his burdens with--the ones like him. Until then, he remains alone, a Jet-Black General awaiting the summoner's orders.

**Author's Note:**

> lissa makes me emo, zelgius makes me emo, the idea of being branded or not having a brand makes me emo,,,,,,,,
> 
> it's the ripe old day of september 19, 2018 and we still don't have beast units in feh come on intsys


End file.
